Bill to raise speed limit from 65 to 70 on portion of I-93 headed to governor

April 18. 2013 3:03PMCONCORD -- The state Senate Thursday passed to Gov. Maggie Hassan legislation that would raise the speed limit from 65 to 70 miles per hour on about 80 miles of Interstate 93, from Canterbury to the Vermont border.

An exception would be through the Franconia Notch area, where the speed limit would remain at 55 miles per hour.

Hassan spokesman Marc Goldberg said she “appreciates the hard work that the Legislature put into this measure, and she will review it closely.”

Sen. David Boutin, R-Hooksett, said that since virtually all of the portion of the highway that would be subject to the higher speed limit is in a rural area, “It is not believed to have a major impact on the flow of traffic.

“We need to be where the people are,” said North Country Sen. Jeff Woodburn, D-Dalton. “We need to drive where the traffic is going. We need to do what the people want.”

He noted that a most drivers on the interstate are driving at least 70 miles per hour, saying, “The law lives in the hearts of the people, not in the signs on the side of the road.”

Besides, said Woodburn, “We need to get people to the North Country faster.”